Conventional collars and leashes attach about an animal's neck. When the leash is pulled, the force exerted on the leash pulls the animal throat, which causes discomfort and can cause injury to the animal. To reduce such force around the neck and protect animals from discomfort, harnesses were developed.
Conventional harnesses include a network of straps which attach to an animal's chest to distribute the force of pulling away from the animal's neck. However, animals are able to exert much more force using the leverage of their chest than their necks. Thus, a walker may require more force to handle an animal using a harness than a standard collar. This difficulty becomes particularly problematic when walking larger dogs, when the strength of the dog is near or exceeds the strength of the walker.
There is a need in the art for an animal leash and harness to alleviate discomfort to the animal, while optimizing the walker's ability to control the animal.